CHAPTER 57: CHAPTER 57: IS IT OVER?

This was an unknown mountaintop, buried in ice and snow. Not a single plant was in sight—only frost and white drifts.

Elise patted the three-tailed white fox on the head and said gently, "Good work. Go play for a bit."

The three-tailed white fox nodded, then turned and ran into the wind and snow, disappearing from view.

Ethan stayed where he was, quietly waiting to see what Elise would do.

Soon, Elise walked up to a wall of solid ice. She brushed away the fresh snow, and a small hole in the wall appeared.

She cleared the hole a bit more, then took out an iron rod about thirty centimeters long and pushed it hard into the hole.

The ice wall quickly melted, turning into clear water that flowed out.

A cave mouth opened before Ethan and Elise. Elise looked back at him and said, "Stick close to me. It’s complicated inside—don’t get lost."

She pulled the rod out and led Ethan into the cave.

As soon as Ethan stepped in, the clear water on the ground froze again, forming another wall of solid ice.

Elise led Ethan for about thirty minutes, and they came to a huge underground chamber.

It was very dim. Ethan couldn’t see much around him, so he kept his back to the wall as best he could.

Elise took out an unknown crystal and placed it into some kind of special device. At once, several beams of light lit up the chamber.

In the center was a platform shaped like a six-pointed star. On top of it stood six tall, bright-red pillars.

The six red pillars were carved with all kinds of patterns. Ethan was too far away to see what they showed, but he could clearly make out a long, narrow pool in the middle of the six pillars.

While Ethan was watching, Elise slowly walked toward the platform and said in a calm voice:

"[Windchaser], your job is simple. Stay calm and keep a clear head, and watch these six Pillars of Desire."

"If any pillar acts strange, use what I’m about to give you to destroy whatever’s wrong."

"I might change how I look in a moment. It’s only really over when I look like I do now again, and clearly tell you it’s over."

Ethan nodded. He took what Elise handed him: a long whip like a viper. The handle was a snake’s head with its mouth open, fangs showing.

He tried to put it into [Inventory], but found he couldn’t.

Noticing this, Elise said at once, "Without my say-so, you can’t stash it away."

"And listen—you must keep your head as much as you can. Only relax after you’re sure I’m clear-minded and back to how I look now."

"I’ll do my best," Ethan said.

Elise nodded, took a deep breath, and turned toward the platform.

Halfway there, she looked back again, her face serious, and said:

"Remember what I told you. If we fail, I won’t just miss my talent evolution—I’ll also lose strength. It’ll be very dangerous."

"If everything goes well, I’ll give you the three Blue-quality items I promised when we get back!"

"I want to pick the items myself," Ethan said.

"No problem!" Elise nodded hard. "After I finish the talent evolution, I can set aside something good for you, to improve your talent."

Improve my talent?

Ethan looked at her. He remembered that wasn’t part of their deal before.

"I just added it," Elise said after a deep breath. "Don’t worry, I won’t cheat you."

"But only if I complete the talent evolution. If I don’t, you get nothing."

Ethan didn’t feel like nodding anymore. He said straight out, "Don’t be scared. Let’s start."

Elise paused. She really was a bit afraid—afraid something might go wrong and end in failure.

After a moment, she walked up to the six Pillars of Desire, pressed her palms together, and closed her eyes.

In the next second, countless threads shot out from her body and wrapped around the six red pillars.

At once, the threads formed a semi-transparent long veil, enclosing the long, narrow pool between the pillars.

Ethan took a look. Through the veil, he could just make out Elise standing by the pool, taking off her clothes, her figure striking.

Then Elise, now naked, slowly walked toward the pool.

When her toes—white and smooth like jade—touched the liquid, several red beams of light rose from the water.

Maybe it was his imagination. Before, this underground space felt huge, empty, and cold.

Now, under the red glow, everything felt heated and stirring.

Especially the figure behind that semi-transparent red veil...

Ethan let out a slow breath and forced that strange feeling out of his mind.

When Elise’s body sank fully into the liquid, Ethan heard loud, unrestrained moans.

It was like she had lost all reason and control, moaning at the top of her voice.

Ethan stepped onto the platform. He didn’t look at the pool. He widened his eyes and stared hard at the six Pillars of Desire.

Soon, as Elise kept moaning, the patterns on the pillar closest to him suddenly began to twist.

He saw a woman with a blurred face but a bold, curvy figure—breasts like papayas, hips like an oversized peach—making all kinds of suggestive moves toward him.

The woman began to slowly step out of the pillar, completely naked, and spoke in a soft, flowing voice:

"Satisfy me. Ravage me."

Ethan curled his lip and swung the whip Elise had given him without hesitation.

"You said it. Then I’ll whip you."

When the whip struck the Pillar of Desire, the woman didn’t scream—she moaned loudly.

Ethan swung the whip again. This time, the woman vanished for good.

The pillar closest to him went back to normal.

He kept watching the other pillars, but a familiar sweet scent soon filled his nose.

At that moment, his status changed from Normal to [Lust].

His body grew hot, his blood rushed, and desire rose in him. But his eyes stayed calm. He stood still, not moving.

Right then, another Pillar of Desire started acting up.

A pair of pure white wings slowly opened from the pillar, glowing with holy white light, making Ethan narrow his eyes a little.

This time it wasn’t a normal human woman, but a winged woman about 1.7 meters tall.

Her pure, holy feathers happened to cover her chest and lower body.

She slowly stretched out her long right leg and stepped out of the pillar. Her face looked holy, cold, and proud, distant from all things. She spoke slowly:

"Human, leave this place!"

"You are full of filthy desire. You make me sick!"

With that proud look and those cold eyes, she seemed like a true god looking down at a mortal.

Ethan was about to swing the whip again when she spoke once more:

"Ignorant human, desire has blinded you. Only if you kneel and kiss my feet can you be cleansed—"

Before she finished, the whip came down on her.

Blood began to flow from her white wings, and the cold, proud look on her face turned to confusion and fear.

She stared at Ethan in panic and shouted, "How dare you defile a god!"

"Ah! It hurts!"

"Mortal! Stop!"

"No! Don’t!"

Ethan kept swinging the whip. He didn’t want to look like some pervert, but he had no choice. Elise had told him to use the whip to break any anomalies.

This winged woman was clearly tougher than the first one.

Soon she fell weakly to her knees in front of Ethan and begged in a low voice, "Please, stop. I’ll do anything."

Ethan sighed and said, "Then go die."

He swung the whip again, and the anomaly vanished completely.

The whole platform fell silent. Even the blood from the winged woman was gone.

Ethan felt even hotter, like he was in an oven, being baked by the heat.

It was real torture.

But to finish Elise’s task and get his reward, he kept his eyes on the Pillars of Desire.

To his surprise, about ten minutes passed and the remaining pillars didn’t act up at all.

Was it over?

He looked toward Elise and realized that at some point, she had already left the pool.